Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of illness and death in Victoria, claiming around 4,000 lives, causing 80 per cent of lung cancer cases and costing Victoria around $5 billion every year.

The strategy sets out challenging targets to significantly reduce smoking in vulnerable and high-risk groups such as pregnant women and Indigenous Victorians.

A key feature of the strategy will be anti-smoking advertisements to help reduce smoking rates and increase calls to the Quitline.

New initiatives outlined in the strategy include:

• banning smoking in cars carrying children under 18 from 1 January 2010
• banning tobacco point of sale displays from 1 January 2011
• reviewing tobacco penalties and enforcement, focusing on cigarette sales to minors
• banning the sale of tobacco at temporary outlets and providing ministerial power to ban youth-orientated tobacco products and packaging, such as fruit-flavoured cigarettes
• ensuring Government school grounds are smoke-free by 1 July 2009
• boosting services to help smokers quit, focusing on pregnant women, Aboriginals and other high-risk groups.

New targets to be achieved by 2013 include:

• reducing adult smoking by 20 per cent, from 17.3 per cent to 13.8 per cent
• reducing smoking among pregnant women by 50 per cent, from 9.3 per cent to 4.7 per cent
• reducing smoking among adult Aboriginals and other high-prevalence groups by at least 20 per cent, from 50 per cent to 40 per cent in Aboriginal Victorians and from 20 per cent to 16 per cent in socio-economically disadvantaged groups.

Victorian Government tobacco reforms to date have seen smoking banned in pubs, clubs, restaurants, cafes, more than 80,000 enclosed workplaces, shopping centres, gaming venues, underage music and dance events and covered areas of train station platforms and tram and bus shelters.

Further information